Friday, September 5, 2008

The digital console that sets the standard for next generation user interface is now available in larger formats - “Engineers now have more power at their fingertips than ever before imaginable,” says Soundcraft & Studer President Andy Trott.

In a series of introductions that will further extend the remarkable success of the Soundcraft Vi Series, Soundcraft today introduced 96 and 72 channel upgrades to the Vi6 and Vi4, respectively. According to Andy Trott, President Soundcraft and Studer, the new additions will make the Vi6 and Vi4 even more potent and versatile tools for front of house and monitor engineers in a vast array of tour and fixed install applications including large houses of worship. The input-to-mix expansion is part of the new V3.0 software release.

“Never before has so much power and versatility been accompanied by such an easily navigable, application-engineered user interface,” Trott said today. “We are very pleased to expand the Vi Series and from our continuous discussions with members of the engineering community, we’re confident that the 96-channel and 72-channel variants will resonate strongly with the market.”

Appreciated worldwide for its advanced Vistonics™ II user interface, the Soundcraft Vi Series provides engineers with a very intuitive operation via a touchscreen color TFT monitor with integral rotary controls and switches mounted on the glass that provide engineers with a unique 'where you look is where you control' working philosophy.

The Vi Series is also known for its stunning sonic performance, boasting an impressive input-to-mix capacity of 64 or 48 channels, mapped out on 32 or 24 motorized faders for the Vi6 and Vi4 respectively. These can be assigned to 32 or 24 outputs (plus a stereo and mono mix) that can be any combination of group and aux buses. Up to 16 matrix outputs can be configured from the pool of buses.

The Soundcraft Vi6 will now be available in 64 or 96 input models (the Vi4 having 48 or 72 inputs), while existing consoles can be upgraded with the purchase of an additional DSP card. The 96 channels to mix (for the Vi6) can then comprise the 64 stagebox mic/line inputs, the 16 line inputs on the local rack, and the eight stereo Lexicon effects returns. The ‘additional’ 32 inputs will be assigned to Fader Bank C on the surface. Alternatively a second stagebox can be added to bring in mic/line inputs from the stage to all 96 input channels. Through desk patching, the inputs can also encompass the 64 MADI channels, or 16 AES/EBU inputs. Further options are available for expanding the I/O to use additional remote stageboxes, or other audio formats.

Another highly significant feature of the V3.0 upgrade is that the Vi4 will now be able to access all 35 output busses, with the addition of eight busses fixed in ‘Aux’ mode, and this feature does not require the additional DSP card.

Further enhancements in the new V3.0 software include sophisticated snapshot filtering, which will be particularly welcomed by theatre users. In addition to the existing ISOLATE function where a channel may be isolated from snapshot recall, high-granularity filtering can now be applied both globally and on each snapshot, right down to individual parameter level (for example, a PAN setting or an individual Aux send). A completely revised Cue List Management suite now allows Apply Changes, where parameter changes can be applied to multiple snapshots, and cues can trigger or be triggered by MIDI or GPIO events, including MIDI Timecode. Harman’s HiQnet™ VENUE RECALL function is tightly integrated within this manager.

Other new features in V3.0 include finer adjustment of input and output delay trims, and enhanced metering on the master bay which includes Gain Reduction metering. It is also now possible to import and export channel labels from and to spreadsheet files using a USB key.

Needless to say, these powerful mix capacity and snapshot extensions are also available in the latest Virtual Vi software, so functionality can be tried and learned offline. The introduction of the Virtual Vi offline editor has proved extremely popular with engineers who are now able to set up their shows in advance, before simply downloading them to the console via a USB memory stick.

The software has had extensive beta trials, and on August 30th, Norwegian band Secret Garden finished off this year’s tour with a special concert including a symphony orchestra using V3.0 software.

The last concert of the tour was a special outdoor show incorporating a 27-piece symphony orchestra in the band’s hometown of Kristiansand, Norway. With the orchestra and nine musicians/singers on stage, Espen Andersen, Production Manager and Monitor Engineer, added a DSP card and a second stagebox to run the required 95 channels from one console.

Espen concluded, “Every thing worked perfectly, and it was a special night and a fantastic ending to a great tour.”

More information and a free download of the Virtual Vi software is available at www.soundcraftdigital.com.

Soundcraft is a unit of Harman International Industries, Incorporated (www.harman.com). Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets, and maintains a strong presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia, employing more than 11,000 people worldwide. The Harman International family of brands includes AKG®, Audioaccess®, Becker®, BSS®, Crown®, dbx®, DigiTech®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson®, Revel®, QNX®, Soundcraft® and Studer®. Harman International’s stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “NYSE: HAR.”

Harman HiQnet™ is the world's first connectivity and control protocol that integrates all product categories in the signal chain for professional audio systems of all types, size, and applications. Harman HiQnet no longer requires the user to manage multiple disparate operating systems or be responsible for programming individual signal processors, speaker controllers, wireless microphone systems, and mixing consoles. HiQnet was developed by engineers from across the Harman Pro Group and is coordinated by the System Development and Integration Group (SDIG), a team of dedicated systems specialists based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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